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<title>Character Assassination by Transcendental Entity (Polaroid_Memoir)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473830">Character Assassination</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polaroid_Memoir/pseuds/Transcendental%20Entity'>Transcendental Entity (Polaroid_Memoir)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Berserk (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Contemplative, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>269</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473830</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polaroid_Memoir/pseuds/Transcendental%20Entity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short piece wherein Griffith processes Guts' response to being asked to do an assassination.  </p>
<p>(Set during episode 9 of the 1997 anime series)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Griffith &amp; Guts (Berserk)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Character Assassination</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Guts' response hurt him. He didn't know what he was anticipating, but this outcome wasn't what he'd been hoping for. </p>
<p>At least the duty would be carried out properly, he had nothing to worry about there.</p>
<p>But why? He'd given Guts more than enough room to answer differently, to maybe consider the weight of the task or even to refuse — now that would've been something. That's not what happened though, instead he went off, blindly following his orders like a good soldier. </p>
<p>He thought he was getting closer to Guts of late, but clearly that wasn't the case.</p>
<p>Maybe Guts didn't have a mind of his own after all. Maybe he would follow Griffith to the end of the world, and never speak out against him. </p>
<p>Which suited him just fine.</p>
<p>Except it didn’t. Something in him had been changed over the time he’d spent with Guts, something fundamental that he’d been wrestling with restlessly for far too long. </p>
<p>He wanted Guts to be more to him. More than just a soldier, a captain or a comrade. </p>
<p>A friend. </p>
<p>A friend would rule himself by his own code, not one placed upon him by another. A friend would be free thinking, and when the time called for it, a true friend would stand against him if they disagreed.</p>
<p>That seemed completely impossible now, and regardless it was a notion he <i>never</i> should have entertained. Having a friend wasn’t conducive to achieving his dream. </p>
<p>Having a friend, someone he truly cared about, would just get in his way. It wasn’t something he <i>needed</i>. </p>
<p>So why was it something he <i>wanted</i>?</p>
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